The death of 48 Syrian government troops and their nine Iraqi escorts last week should give double cause for concern. The first problem is that the events that led up to the Syrian soldiers arriving on Iraqi soil appear to give substance to rising concerns that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki and other ministers within his “Government of National Unity” are giving active support to the Assad regime at the prompting of Tehran. The Syrian army unit reportedly retreated into Iraq when it was under sustained attack from elements of the Free Syrian Army. The FSA forces did not follow. Normally one would expect combat soldiers in this situation to be disarmed and interned by the military of the country into whose territory they had crossed. This does not appear to have happened. Instead, the Iraqis agreed to escort Assad's soldiers south to another border post, where they could re-enter Syrian territory safely. The news of this movement clearly leaked out. The column ran into what was clearly a well-prepared ambush. Vehicles were destroyed with Improvised Explosive Devices and rocket-propelled grenades and the survivors finished off with machine gun and small arms fire. There are thought to have been no survivors. It is not yet clear if the Syrian troops still had their weapons with them and were able to fight back. In any event this was a devastating assault that probably took the column entirely by surprise. The second cause for concern is that the ambush was mounted by the Iraqi Al-Qaeda offshoot, the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), which published pictures and details of the action on a web site and gloried in the annihilation of the convoy. It also made the point that this proved that parts of the Iraqi government were actively involved in supporting the Assad regime. That Al-Qaeda should have found and exploited an opportunity to ally itself with moderate opinion in the Arab world, which so condemns Bashar Assad's murderous attempt to crush his own people, is deeply disturbing. The tactic should not have been unexpected. After all, did not Bin Laden's bigots draw strength and indeed support from some Iraqis by casting themselves as Arab champions opposing the American occupation and vowing to drive all foreigners from the country? However much people may applaud the convoy attack as a blow against Assad's military killing machine and also enjoy the embarrassing position in which these events have placed Maliki, it is imperative that no one believes that Al-Qaeda's ISI has suddenly become “the good guys”. Their wiping out of the Syrian detachment was simply another day's ruthless, bloody work for the terrorist killers. In the end they care not whom they butcher with their bombs and bullets, as long as the torn and maimed bodies help destabilize the societies into which the fanatical bigots have wormed their way. Tomorrow it will be yet more luckless innocent Iraqis who will perish at their hands. Nevertheless, the refuge given to and the repatriation of Assad's soldiers needs to be investigated and explained by Baghdad. More importantly, Maliki needs to assure the world that he is not permitting Iran to bring military supplies and even Revolutionary Guard fighters overland to Syria, giving ISI an even better ambush target. This cannot be a case of our enemy's enemy being our friend. Al-Qaeda terrorist thugs are absolutely nobody's friends.
